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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812711">spent the whole day in my head (did a little spring cleaning)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/comfortcrowd/pseuds/comfortcrowd'>comfortcrowd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Legacies (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And the fact that we don't know what's up with Hope, F/F, I like to think she's chilling, Inspired by Josie's fairytale consciousness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:06:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,869</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812711</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/comfortcrowd/pseuds/comfortcrowd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope Mikaelson is quite literally in her head and well, Josie never really intended for anyone to be up there (other than herself).</p><p>Or</p><p>The one where Hope isn’t stone and Josie didn’t mean to leave that one door open in her brain.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>334</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>spent the whole day in my head (did a little spring cleaning)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title based off the song Good News by Mac Miller</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Josie kills the dark part of herself and almost regrets it — unsure of what will lie ahead for her. She knows that she can be powerful and strong just like the dark part of her was, but she killed someone, and just the thought of it makes Josie’s stomach knot up and bile rises in her throat. Her dad, her friends, her sister—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What will they think of her? The dark part of her wore her face, spoke with her voice, smiled her smile and— </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Josie thinks, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I wouldn’t look at myself the same either</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except, while Alaric embraces her and for a moment and Josie swears nothing will change, she feels something in her head. As though it’s heavier or fuller, like she’s operating for two people. She worries that it’s her dark side, that they managed to actually split both her and her evil tendencies in half. That is, until Alaric and Lizzie lead her back into the school and into Alaric’s office, and Josie is confronted with the truth of who’s still in her head. And, yeah, it makes sense, but Josie figured the auburn haired girl had popped out of Josie’s head the moment Josie became Josie again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So that means Hope Mikealson is quite literally in her head and, well, Josie will be first to admit that aside from the nice, cohesive fairytale entryway into her subconscious, the rest is messy and ugly and—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie just... didn’t get to do enough spring cleaning before Hope started hanging out in her head.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s that same night, after Josie has showered and changed into her pyjamas and started to wind down, that she swears she hears a voice that isn’t... hers. It’s faint, and it almost tickles behind her right ear, but it’s also completely recognizable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hope</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Josie asks herself, briefly wondering if the auburn haired girl can hear everything she’s been thinking all night, and growing a little self-conscious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears a small laugh first, before, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, Jo, I can hear all of your thoughts. I don’t think anyone is as introspective as you are</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Um</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Josie pauses, brows knitting together. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Can you, uh, leave? My head, that is</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie frowns and sighs before closing her eyes and laying down on her bed, letting her arms and legs relax into the mattress. She remembers, distantly, how her dark self once did this, but she also lacks a lot of the magic she once had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she opens her eyes, she’s laying on the ground in a forest, no longer in the comfort of her and Lizzie’s bedroom. She can see the sun peaking through the leaves of the tall trees, and feels her smile grow when she hears a few birds chirping around her. The sky is light blue, no longer gloomy and foggy from when she was corrupt with dark magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone clears their throat above Josie, and the brunette scrambles to her feet and stands face-to-face with Hope. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Josie says breathlessly, smiling widely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl in front of her smiles in response before reaching out and hugging Josie tightly. “You’re you again. Thank god.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie finds herself relaxing into the hug, grateful that Hope doesn’t see her differently after everything that she’s done. “Yeah, I am,” the brunette sighs in content. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The siphon tries not to seem too visibly disappointed when Hope pulls away slightly. Instead, she takes in the view around her. Hope is still wearing her Red Riding Hood inspired clothes like the last time they saw each other, and Josie has the awareness to tug her eyes away and look at how happy everything looks here, the looming evilness seemingly gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josie, did you hear what I said?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The brunette clears her throat. “I— no, sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as Hope smirks a little and explains, “I said that I didn’t expect for you to have more than just one large subconscious room-thingy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My... what?” Josie questions. She feels colour come to her cheeks and darts her head down, trying to hide her embarrassment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Turn around.” Hope gestures with her hand for the younger girl to spin, and when she does she sees the dark wood door about twenty feet away that Hope must be talking about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Other than its frame, the door is not attached to any sort of wall. Instead, it stands perfectly straight, as though the air beside it is solid. It stands slightly ajar, though Josie can’t see anything behind the door, just darkness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie swallows hard. She regrets not hiding that door deeper in the forest, but she also didn’t expect that Hope Mikealson would be up here, too. “Have you gone inside?” Josie asks nervously, turning back around to look at the tribrid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope shakes her head and offers Josie a reassuring smile before saying, “I figured you’d come back here sooner or later, and I felt like exploring more of your consciousness would be overstepping.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing special.” Josie shrugs noncommittally, stepping backwards in a way that blocks Hope from seeing through the opening in the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The auburn haired girl tilts her head curiously and shifts to her left foot to try and see around Josie, but the siphon shuffles to block Hope’s line of sight again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?” Hope asks incredulously, scoffing a little at Josie’s antics. “You’re not acting like it’s ‘nothing special’ Jo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie rolls her eyes and moves to let Hope look and crosses her arms below her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see anything,” Hope says. She takes a step forward and squints a little, trying to see anything behind the door from as far out as she is and with how dark it is on the other side. “Am I supposed to be able to see something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, the lights are off in that room,” Josie explains reluctantly. Her foot kicks into the grass below her softly as she waits for Hope’s response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How very energy conserving of you. But what’s the big deal about what’s behind that door?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie swallows hard. “This fairytale, it’s nice and all. But it doesn’t really...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have any substance?” Hope questions, watching Josie carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The brunette clears her throat and nods. “Yeah, I guess. There’s just— the fairytale is nice but it’s not how my brain actually is,” Josie starts, “There’s parts that aren’t as intricate or clean as this one. This is... safe. The rest is hidden away behind that door.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope speaks quieter than before, almost whispering, “Do we go in? Is that what we have to do to get me out of here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure,” Josie admits. “Probably.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The auburn haired girl reaches out and takes Josie’s hand, squeezing it once comfortingly. She tugs a little and Josie steps closer to her, hands interlocked. “As long as you’re okay with it, we’ll go in,” Hope explains, her thumb brushing over the back of Josie’s hand. “I know things have been difficult as of late, but I promise none of this is going to change anything, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope leads the two of them towards the door and Josie follows cautiously beside her, letting herself get distracted by their joint hands so she doesn’t combust just thinking about all of the things in the next room. When Hope stops suddenly the brunette nearly collides with her back but catches herself, leaving the two girls just a hair too close than they should be. Hope turns her head to smile at Josie and squeeze her hand one last time, before her right hand reaches for the knob of the door and she pulls it slowly, like any quicker the door will rip from its hinges. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when the door opens completely and they’re facing the dark room in its entirety, nothing identifiable in the darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there a magical light sensor or something?” Hope inquires, taking another step so that she’s standing before the darkness, her head moving as she tries to see anything in the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Josie uses her hands to move Hope off to the side so she can enter the room, trying to ignore the chill she gets when her hand touches the shorter girl’s hip. She steps into the room and moves her arm to beside the door on the other side, fumbling with a solid wall before finding the light switch and flipping it, the library-sized room becoming illuminated with a harsh white light. “There.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope exhales slowly, taking in the sight in front of her. The library is eerily similar to the one at the Salvatore’s estate -- in fact, Hope thinks it’s nearly identical. Aside from the lack of windows, which in turn requires the harsh, bright lights that sit along the ceiling similarly to ones that would be seen at a typical high school. The shelves are lined with the same books, masses of books organized by category and author, all in pristine condition regardless of most of them being hundreds of years old. Below them, in the sunken reading-quarters, all of the tables are littered with pictures, open books and scattered pages. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The auburn haired girl lets out a little surprised noise at what she sees next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other side of the table facing the two girls stand six figures in regular clothes, their arms relaxed at their sides and so still that it’s almost inhuman-like. The only thing that confirms Hope’s suspicions is that none of their chests rise or fall with air, they stand, completely immobile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie leads the two of them down the stairs towards the six figures, her grip on Hope tightening involuntarily as they walk the short distance. Closer up, Hope is shocked to see faces that she recognizes. From her left to her right, Lizzie, Caroline, Alaric, Landon, and Penelope stand across from her. Her heart drops when she sees herself standing between Alaric and Landon, the whites of her eyes making up her eyes entirely, just like the five others. None of them make any movement towards them and the unsettledness of it all brings a chill up Hope’s back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jo…” Hope starts, her heart quickening in her chest. “What…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of answering, Josie releases their hands and grabs a paper from the table in front of them. Immediately, all of the figures begin to shout out in anger. Hope stumbles back in surprise as she listens to them, all directed at Josie, telling her how little they think of her and how inconvenient she is and-- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie puts the paper back onto the table and the group goes silent again, entirely still. “They’re my fears. Embodied as the people I love the most,” Josie clarifies, her jaw clenching in anger. “Each person uses a specific fear against me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would you have this, Jo?” Hope implores, her voice catching in her throat. Her hands ball into fists and her mouth feels dry. She looks at Josie with hurt and confusion, and Josie has to look away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We all have issues to deal with,” Josie deflects, lips pursed in thought. “This isn’t where the exit to the outside world is for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope’s mouth opens but closes shut quickly before she says anything. She takes a step closer and puts her hand on Josie’s shoulder gently. “Can’t you conjure up an exit? You control this world.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have enough magic in my system for that. I siphoned most of my power into a coin in the real world, the only reason I could come here was because I left a little in case of an emergency,” Josie comments, her brows furrowing. “I’m not even entirely sure if I can lead you out of here before I run out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to move quickly then,” Hope says. “Where do we need to go next?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind the six people and a dozen more rows of shelves is a door with an exit sign above it, the sign flickering and a spray painted line crossed through the word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very clearly not an exit,” Hope muses, smiling a little at how obvious Josie’s consciousness is. She’s tugged along by Josie before she can make any more comments and is forced to quickly adjust to their new location.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by different coloured homes in a suburbia that Hope doesn’t recognize. She does, however, recognize the woman leaving the house in front of them. Caroline walks out onto the front porch and an older Josie, in her mid-twenties, follows, lingering in the doorway. Hope isn’t able to make out any of the conversation between the two family members, but between the warm sun and kind smiles both women have, Hope doesn’t believe that this room has the same callousness as the last one she was in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost as if Josie can read her mind, the siphon explains, “This is my dreams room. All of my hopes and dreams are here, living out the perfect life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope grows curious when she sees Josie’s cheeks blush as she explains, and her questions are answered when an older version of Hope walks so that she’s beside the older Josie. “Oh,” Hope murmurs, her cheeks growing a similar shade of red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The exit isn’t here either.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie and Hope watch and Caroline hug both of the older versions of them and move to leave, waving goodbye one last time. Caroline gets into her car and drives away, passing real-life Josie and Hope. They watch as the two older girls giggle at something one of them said and make their way back into the house, arm in arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like this room,” Hope whispers, her eyes still firmly trained on the house in front of her. “It’s happy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is,” Josie agrees. She watches the shorter girl carefully, trying to figure out what Hope is thinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hope looks at her with a gleam in her eye and Josie feels her stomach erupt with butterflies just at how close the tribrid stands next to her. “We should get going,” Hope says quietly, almost regretfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie’s smile fades a little and she nods, leading them off of the road and towards the house, opening the door easily and walking inside. She moves them through the house quickly and into the backyard and towards a shed in the far corner. When she swings the shed door open, she and Hope are transported into another consciousness room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Here, Hope recognizes their surroundings easily. They’re out in the forest that surrounds the Salvatore property, beside the graveyard that Josie was buried in just a year ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The door is buried where I was.” Josie rolls her eyes and for the first time during all of this, Hope sees her genuinely smile. “My consciousness is dramatic.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two girls walk into the graveyard quickly, looking for the old burial site. Hope spots it quickly, remembering the day all too well to forget where it happened, and Josie follows close behind. They dig as fast as they can, shoveling at the dirt with their hands until Hope hits solid wood and uses her superstrength to pull it open completely, dirt falling into the entryway. The entire entrance glows white, hitting Hope and Josie so that they look like they’re glowing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go,” Josie urges, motioning towards the door. She watches as Hope pauses and seems to be debating something over in her head. “Hope?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other girl looks at her and smiles widely before leaning in and kissing Josie, so light that Josie isn’t even sure it really happened when they pull away, except Hope’s cheeks are bright pink and the siphon swears she’s never been so happy to be in a graveyard. Hope gives her one last peck on the cheek before nodding and falling forward, disappearing through the door. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When she wakes up, she’s back in her bedroom, the clock on her bedside table indicating that it’s nearing midnight. Her arms and legs are sore and when she pulls herself up to sit, she has to roll her head side to side to try and loosen up the tight muscles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as she’s getting up there’s a knock on the door that leads into the hall, and she opens it unsure of who to expect. Standing there, eyes wide, is Hope Mikaelson. Before Josie has the chance to speak, Hope begins, “I chose you. When Landon left, and I asked if I could stay at the school -- I chose you over him. And then, when you and Alaric and Lizzie were trapped in the prison world, I chose you </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And Landon somewhere, doing who knows what, but I’m here, Jo--” her voice catches in her throat and Josie doesn’t think she’s seen the tribrid so… vulnerable. “-- I chose you. I choose you. I think I always will. And I really need you to say something, or do something, becau--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josie places a hand on either side of Hope’s face and leans in, kissing the auburn haired girl for the second time that night (the first time in real life). </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they pull away, the brunette grins and gives a chaste kiss for good measure. “I choose you too.”</span>
</p>
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